The Site Selectors Guild (SSG), in collaboration with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), is proud to present newly developed research on data usage for the economic development community. The SSG is the world’s largest group of senior location advisors.
The Economic Development Research Partners (EDRP), an elite group of IEDC members dedicated to creating practical and useful research for economic development professionals, developed this research and released it with the title “A New Standard: Achieving Data Excellence in Economic Development.”
The research demonstrates how those working in economic development can use analytics tools and other sources of information to present high-quality data that site selectors and businesses expect to see. Additionally, the report explores how disparities in data can affect and ultimately obstruct the location decision process.
“There are so many new technologies and tools available to provide the data that site selectors need to be able to make sound, apples-to-apples comparisons when working with corporate clients on site selection projects,” said Phil Schneider, SSG president. “IEDC, EDRP and other professionals have worked extremely hard to develop this research to help the professionals who use this data, and the Guild was proud to sponsor and contribute to this work.”
In the past, economic development data came in a wide variety of facts and figures that made it difficult to compare sites. Location consultants struggled with communities’ inability to provide the amount of reliable data needed within a quick turnaround time.
“For instance, the high school completion rate is not the same as the dropout rate—and so it is important to be accurate and compare like-to-like when representing potential sites through data,” said Schneider. Topics covered in the report include using, collecting, presenting, analyzing and managing data in a new standard for data usage.
The location advisors and site selectors of the Site Selectors Guild, who sponsored the research in addition to contributing member time and involvement, believe the approach recommended in the report will allow communities direct comparability with each other, making for a powerful tool to help economic development professionals compete in an increasingly tough market.
About The Site Selectors Guild
The Site Selectors Guild is a professional association comprised of the world’s most respected site selection consultants. The mission of The Site Selectors Guild is to advance the profession of international corporate site selection by promoting the profession and providing education, networking and other services to those involved in the industry.
All members of The Site Selectors Guild have been nominated and approved by their industry peers. As the first and only group of its kind, the Site Selectors Guild brings together a dynamic network of site selectors from around the world, combining their talent and expertise to create an invaluable resource, unmatched in its quality, for both corporations seeking site selection assistance and economic development organizations.
For more information see www.siteselectorsguild.com